When they broke breathlessly apart, Loki's expression was indecipherable, even though Thor was mere inches from his face.

"Do not."

The green god's voice was smoky and tremblingly low, his thin lips drawing back just enough to reveal the pointed white teeth glimmering softly in the dark.

"Do not speak as if the bond between us had not changed. You know just as well as I do that it had deformed into something horrendously ugly years ago when you intentionally left me to drown alone while you pursued your other… interests."

"Loki."

Thor pushed himself upright, desperation expanding uncomfortably hot and tight in his chest.

"Oh yes, Thor. I'm not referring to only Sif and Jane. Tasty bits of skirt, weren't they? I'm speaking of power and the Asgardian throne. Fear and worship from all - was that not your goal? - the whole of Asgard, and your precious Earth, groveling at your feet…"

"Believe me, had you asked, had you said the word, I would have given them all for you," Thor hesitated, knowing the water into which he was treading was very dangerous indeed, "Everything. I would do it."

Another pause.

"Even now."

The silence and darkness of the room hung between the two stone still figures like a weighted curtain both were afraid to draw aside.

"Very well, brother."

There was a flurry of leather and heavy cloth as Loki stood, smoothly replacing the fallen helmet on his head and conjuring his staff. In the soft moonlight, the regality in his stance and appearance were undeniable, all traces of his youthful timidity and familiar delicacy gone.

"I will have you prove your valiant words to me. Kneel, as I had been forced to do so before you so many times, publically. I want you to feel the humiliation of the subjugation I had to endure. The… the… inadequacy… the.. "

"Loki."

"DO IT!"

The sudden yell and metallic clang of Loki's thrown weapon against the far wall reverberated in the dusky room. Loki was panting hard and fast, eyes fixated upon the floor, hand still poised in mid-air.

Thor dropped to his knees.

Angry footsteps drew nearer, nearer, and Thor felt his hair jerked back so violently he felt a burn race down the sides of his neck. The strain forced his mouth open, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He knew what was coming. Shameful anticipation began to throb between his legs.

"I will dominate you, Thor."

Loki's voice shook but his unforgiving hand never left its place wound tightly in the long blond strands; Thor could not see his brother's movements but the clink of metal was unmistakable. He heard fabric falling in a liquid heap to the floor. Thor found he could not swallow the accumulating saliva under his tongue.

Two more footsteps.

Warmth slammed itself along the underside of Thor's right jaw. Again, against his cheek, and finally into his overflowing mouth. Thor's eyes watered with panic. He couldn't breathe, pressed up so roughly against the heat of Loki's lean abdomen, the unexpected length completely obstructing his mouth cavity, cutting off all air. He scrabbled at the strong thighs on either sides of his neck, pushing back, but a strange force pinned them back down to his sides, and Thor flexed desperately against them, but it wasn't enough to break what must have been magic. Thor was stunned with disbelief and overwhelmed with an unfamiliar sense of helplessness.

Then his brother was thrusting, hard against the back of his throat. The dry retches shook Thor's entire body and he could feel the cold sweat beading around his forehead and between his shoulder blades. Loki threw his head back in ecstasy, oblivious of Thor's frantic squirming, growling with a feral ferocity. Thor was choking audibly, reflexive tears of distress running down both sides of his cheeks and dripping into his beard along with the fluids brimming from his mouth. Thor found that his groin, too, was leaking, straining against the thin fabric of his pants. The exposed skin of Loki's thighs, the hard panting, the fire of the friction in his mouth, his own futile struggling… it was too much, too much. Thor's moan stuck in his throat; the result was the strangled noise of a wounded animal. Loki sped up, as if in response, breath coming fast and strained.

"Mew… ling qwim…"

The words were low and gasping.

A second hand entwined itself around the back of Thor's head. The thrusts intensified now, the velocity and violence unrelenting.

Then, Loki's seed spilled over in his mouth, and Thor's head and arms were released without warning. The sudden momentum brought him onto all fours, spluttering for air, nostrils stretched wide, face and throat aflame. His mouth dripped obscenely, forming small murky pools of silver-white on the floor as coughs wracked his entire body.

Two cool, pale hands snaked down and cupped Thor's drenched chin, surprisingly gentle. Thor lifted his head slowly, and Loki leaned in now, eyes closed. When they met, Loki tasted sweet and soft through the saltiness of the semen. Thor opened his mouth and Loki licked at his lips like a cat.

Anger reared in Thor's heaving chest. How dare the little devil show such tenderness after such… such… actions? Thor abruptly turned his head to the side. Loki froze as he watched the God of Thunder wipe the wetness away from his face with the back of his arm, then straightened and snapped his fingers. The green and black cloth wound themselves back around Loki's body and the buckles of his bronze armor snapped in place.

"Forgive me, brother."

Thor stared mutely at the standing figure.

A blink.

A brief flash of light.

And then he was gone.

Thor laid in his large bed, cleansed by the hot shower but still feeling inexplicably sullied, comforters tangled around his long legs from the tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling. He thought ofthe previous scene but focused mainly Loki's eyes, the way they had looked as the two brothers stared at each other across the room - green and wild and dripping with unmistakable hurt.

Why all the conflicting emotions within such a short span of time? He was the perpetrator of this… of everything. What right had he to feel wronged?

He flung his arm over his eyes in frustration and tried to calm his quickened breathing. It was no good. He could still smell Loki on him, taste him in his mouth. Loki swam before his eyes. "Brother," the image said, but it wasn't smiling.

Thor felt a weight on his chest.

It wasn't metaphorical. He lifted his head hastily despite the lingering pain in his neck, blood draining with dread.

It was Loki. He wasn't wearing his armor anymore, but some robe of soft gray material, and his loose black locks fanned out onto Thor's shoulder. Loki's long fingers were clutching the fabric of Thor's shirt. Thor had forgotten how silently his brother was able to move. He must have magicked himself back here.

Why?

Thor wanted to sit up, question Loki, but hadn't the heart to. Not now, with Loki finally back, curled up light and warm against his chest like he so often did when they were children. Despite what had transpired earlier, Thor felt eerily calmed by the familiarity. Instead of another confrontation, they lay there, breathing quietly, no one saying a single word.

In the morning. They would figure it out in the morning.

Thor rested his hand protectively on Loki's shoulders and replaced his head back on the pillow.

Yes. In the morning.